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Why Equality Is a Marketing Imperative

CMOs who champion equality in advertising, media, and the workplace are typically achieving stronger results by uniting against longstanding gender stereotypes and persistent cultural norms. Shelley Zalis, CEO of The Female Quotient and founder of The Girls’ Lounge, and Alicia Hatch, CMO of Deloitte Digital, discuss how an industry movement is helping to usher in an era of authentic marketing.

Shelley Zalis

Gender equality isn’t a women’s issue—it’s a business imperative. It’s also an area where CMOs play a unique role in creating positive change in the culture and producing bottom-line results for their brands. Marketers have a responsibility for shaping how women and girls are portrayed in advertising and which programming brands’ ad dollars support, which makes it a critical part of their jobs to connect with their audience through more authentic depictions of gender roles. As members of the C-suite, CMOs can also influence corporate culture and policies that can empower women and improve business outcomes.

To help marketers harness this power, The Female Quotient, an organization dedicated to advancing equality in the workplace, is working with industry associations such as the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) as well as CMOs representing some of the world’s best-known brands. “Diversity is about integrating the best, most disparate thinking in a collaborative fashion, and that breeds success,” says Shelley Zalis, CEO and founder of The Female Quotient. “If a company can create an equality culture and if equality is in its DNA, it can help close the wage gap and address unconscious bias—in its organization, in the media, and out in the world—all while reaping stronger business results.”

Working toward this goal, The Female Quotient provides networking opportunities at its Girls’ Lounges—experiential pop-ups at industry conferences, corporations, and college campuses. In addition, Zalis and Gail Tifford, vice president of media North America and global digital innovation at Unilever, co-founded the #SeeHer initiative with the ANA’s Alliance for Family Entertainment, which aims to create a more accurate portrayal of women and girls in media. The effort included the rollout of the Gender Equality Measure (GEM™), which identifies and tracks advertising and programming that supports girls and women.

Alicia Hatch

“Research has shown that ads and campaigns with stronger GEM scores perform better than those that promote stereotypes. In addition, ads that are placed in content with high GEM scores also perform better,” says Alicia Hatch, CMO of Deloitte Digital, which collaborates with The Female Quotient and will be gathering with Zalis and industry leaders at the 2017 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, as well as other industry events, to discuss gender equality in marketing. “So it’s not only the right thing to do; in today’s competitive business landscape, it’s the smart thing to do.”

In this Q&A, Hatch and Zalis discuss how CMOs can help promote gender equality, what strides have been made, and how leaders can empower women on a personal level.

Hatch: You started The Female Quotient in 2013 and have been working on a number of initiatives. What is the state of gender equality in the workplace in 2017? What have we accomplished, and what work remains?

Zalis: Overall, women are underrepresented at every level in the corporate pipeline; only 19 percent of C-level executives are women. Women earn less money than men, and the pay gap has narrowed by only 2 percent in the past 10 years. But moving forward requires celebrating successes, not pointing fingers. The #SeeHer movement is a big step for the marketing industry, because leaders are joining together and agreeing to become more accountable. The GEM score enables brands to see where they are with their ads, and where they can improve. It does the same for networks, letting them know where their programming stands. It’s about being conscious of the roles women play—the content and context, what they’re saying and wearing. As of March, more than 20,000 ads had been tested. Having these metrics for success is very important, because advertisers will start moving their GEM-certified advertising into GEM-certified programming. When marketers start talking with money, change happens.

Why is this so important? What’s the connection between the way women are portrayed in media and the way they’re treated in their daily lives?

According to the research we’ve conducted with #SeeHer, 40 percent of women say they don’t identify at all with the women they see in advertising, and 55 percent of adults believe women are portrayed negatively in the media. Stereotypes hold women back personally and professionally, and they can lead to prejudice and discrimination. But interestingly, the research reveals the business case for the positive portrayal of gender. Forward-thinking advertising—advertising that portrays gender positively—was 12 percent more effective and delivered a better brand impact.

If almost half your target audience doesn’t identify with what you’re putting in front of them, it makes sense that ads that reflect more gender equality would perform better.It seems we’re moving from an era of aspirational marketing to an era of authentic marketing, and that authenticity is empowering. We’ve talked about the industry, but what else can individual companies do to advance equality?

Addressing inequality starts with wanting to be better—with a company’s leadership recognizing there is room to improve and an opportunity to leave a legacy by activating solutions for change. That acknowledgement is most powerful when it starts at the top. Organizations also can create metrics for success and share best practices. If companies aren’t tracking wage gap or diversity metrics at all levels—if there isn’t accountability—they can’t address the issue in earnest. Companies that are tracking and measuring can begin creating a road map and drive step change. Equality doesn’t happen overnight, and companies that think they can push a button and fix the problem are mistaken.

How can CMOs and their marketing organizations do their part?

For CMOs, it’s about creating advertising and content that portrays women and girls in accurate and realistic ways. It’s about having a media presence, including a social media presence, that reinforces diversity and equality. It’s also about promoting diversity in their teams—and even making that a success metric. If there’s accountability that’s measurable, and bonuses depend on it, people will change the game.

Being closely connected to the CEO can help the CMO advance equality, because making equality part of the company’s DNA requires change across the entire organization. Every company is unique, so what works for one organization may not work for another. The challenge is complex, but we can simplify it by taking one step at a time, monitoring progress, and being inspired by that progress to do more.

On a personal level, what can marketers do to empower the next generation of women?

Women historically have been taught to compete with each other, but the secret to success is collaborating and supporting one another. Recognizing and amplifying each other’s strengths and achievements is critical. When you’re the minority in a room and you support the other minority, it makes you feel like the new majority—so be brave, and don’t be afraid to disrupt the status quo. Also, for men and women alike, realize that gender equality is not a female issue. We did not put ourselves in this situation. It’s a social and economic issue, and men need to be part of the conversation and solution.

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